1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a padlock, more particularly to an electric padlock which can be operated electrically with the use of a remote controller to provide added user convenience.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional padlock typically includes a lock body with a lock core device mounted therein, and a U-shaped shackle member mounted on the lock body for hooking at objects to be locked. The shackle member is movable between locking and unlocking positions by operating the lock core device with the use of a corresponding key. However, in certain circumstances, insertion of the key into a keyhole of the lock core device might be difficult or inconvenient to conduct. It is thus desirable to provide a padlock that can be operated in a more convenient manner to result in enhanced user convenience.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a padlock which can be operated electrically. Accordingly, the electric padlock of the present invention includes a lock casing, an inverted U-shaped shackle member, a biasing spring, a latch member, and an electric operating unit. The lock casing has a top wall formed with first and second shackle insert holes. The shackle member has a longer leg portion movably disposed in the second shackle insert hole, and a shorter leg portion parallel to the longer leg portion and extendible into the first shackle insert hole. The shorter leg portion is formed with a shackle groove. The biasing spring is mounted in the second shackle insert hole for biasing the longer leg portion upwardly. The latch member is received in the lock casing, and is movable between a locking position in which the latch member is moved toward the first shackle insert hole for engaging the shackle groove in the shorter leg portion of the shackle member when the shorter leg portion is inserted into the first shackle insert hole so as to lock the shackle member on the lock casing, and an unlocking position in which the latch member is moved away from the first shackle insert hole for disengaging from the shackle groove to permit upward movement of the shorter leg portion by virtue of biasing action of the biasing spring so as to unlock the shackle member from the lock casing. The electric operating unit includes a drive motor and a remote controller. The drive motor is mounted in the lock casing, engages the latch member, and is operable for moving the latch member from the locking position to the unlocking position. The remote controller is operable so as to provide an electric signal to the drive motor for controlling operation of the drive motor.